Thomas Emerick

Published on Jan. 9, 2013 | Updated on Jan. 10, 2013

Jan. 9, 2013

Losing a player many considered to be the most valuable defensive weapon in football last year would certainly hurt the San Francisco 49ers, but playing an ineffective Justin Smith against the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night could turn out equally damaging.

Such is the quandary 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and defensive coordinator Vic Fangio face while their star defensive end recovers from a partially torn triceps suffered at New England in Week 15. San Francisco followed that stunning performance with its biggest clunker of the season in Seattle before allowing 13 points to the Cardinals. Arizona barely managed a field goal at home in their first meeting.

The trickle-down effect has hit outside linebacker Aldon Smith the hardest. Once a challenger for both Defensive Player of the Year and the NFL sack record, he recorded zero sacks since playing the Patriots after notching 19.5 through his first 13 games. In that second Cardinals game, he managed just one quarterback hit against an offensive line that led the league in sacks allowed.

Ricky Jean Francois picked up a key sack at the end of the win in New England but hasn't proved remotely close to the force against the run and pass that Justin Smith provides up front in the 49ers' 3-4. Still, Fangio has expressed that the Niners will pull Justin Smith if his health is deemed below adequate.

“If, from my point of view, he’s not playing up to his standard or close to it, we’ll put the next guy in,” Fangio said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “It’s been my experience that someone at 80 percent is not as good as the next guy at 100 percent.”